Justice Will Prevail
by The New Vampire
Summary: A young detective and one of the best detectives ever must work together on the Kira case. But will Kayla's family problems be too much for her, or will the two of them crack this case wide? T for safety, eventual LXOC. Summery sucks, sue me-Will.
1. Chapter 1

Justice will prevail…and so will love?

Chapter 1

I finished the last case, about a suspected embezzlement, and put my head down, pillowing it with my arms. I hadn't slept for God-knows-how-long, but at last I'd finished the huge pile of work Dad had brought home. He was a detective for the police, but he was terrible at deciphering cases. That was where I, his 'secret weapon', came in. I had conformed at a very early age that I was good at this kind of thing. I had sharp eyes, a good memory, and interpretive skills that were honed by the mysteries that I read. Sherlock Homes, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, I surpassed them at 7 years old. By the time I was 11, I was reading adult mysteries (carefully picking them out, because I just wanted a mystery, with as little romance as possible). By then, Dad had figured out that I was pretty good at solving mysteries and he wasn't, so then our working 'partnership' started. It was good for me, and good for him. The only thing was that he'd volunteer for so many cases that regular hours were no longer existent for me. When I wasn't working on a case, I was cooking and doing the general housework. Often I'd do them simultaneously. Dad helped out by doing his stuff, which I was thankful for. I was not going to investigate a bank robbery while pressing his socks. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love my dad to death, but couldn't he volunteer for fewer jobs? He made enough for the two of us, and a little left over for treats and surprise presents.

I had just started to finally drift off (thank you, insomnia!) when…BAM! I was jolted awake by the door slam that announced the arrival of my father. I hurried to my bathroom, to stall as long as I could. I was not ready for a new stack of cases. I looked flatly at the mirror, and decided that I needed a vacation. Or a job. Or just a full week of sleep. I was 16 years old, and looked more like my mother than my father. My hair was growing out of its pixie cut, except for two long locks that hung in front of my ears. Short tousled locks spiked everywhere. Many settled in front of my face, contrasting the white skin with the inky-black, with just a hint of red and blue. My eyes were the color of dark chocolate, with huge bags under them, and stared blankly from the partial curtain that was my hair. My clothes were rumpled, hanging limply off my short, slender, willowy to the point where doctors often asked if I was anorexic (which I was not, thank you very much) figure. I was underdeveloped, and recently started having my 'girl thing'. The thing where you need to by tampons. My skin just made me look worse. Overall I looked like I'd just been through the mill, or was homeless. I sighed, then braced myself for the worst before I opened the bathroom door. I walked to the kitchen with a false smile. "I-I've finished the cases you've given me, Dad," I said quietly. He looked—no, more like glared suspiciously—up from his hot cup of coffee that I'd prepared for him. "Good," he said, but made no move to shove another fifteen reams of casework and evidence in my face. "The boss decided to bring me along to the emergency ICPO meeting."

"And you want me to come with you, right?" I asked timidly. It was best not to get him angry. He had a short fuse, at the best of times. "Yup. We leave today," he said, getting up to freshen up in his bathroom. I sighed, then walked over to my room to start packing.

I opened my suitcase on my bed, then surveyed my room. What could I bring with me? My laptop was a definite yes, and I put that in the special pocket just for laptops/notebooks. I put my iPod Touch in my pocket, and plugged in the earphones. 'Sleep song' by Secret Garden started to pump into my ear canals, and so I started packing with a bit more vigor as music worked it's magic. Clothes, 'girl stuff', a good book or two, my drawing book and some pens and mechanical pencils all went in. So did my diary, a legal pad for taking notes, a first-aid kit, a toothbrush and toothpaste, extra socks, and a formal outfit for appearing at the meeting. At the last minute, I threw in my recipe book. I would probably be assigned kitchen duties once we got to the suite. I had defiantly inherited the kitchen realm from my mother. I closed my suitcase, and grabbed a black, non-descript shoulder bag. In it I put my wallet, passport, two cell phones (one was business/friends, and the other was private and/or for emergency usage—only my father, and my best friend had that number, and it was always at full battery. If it was an emergency, there was a special extension number that would turn it on, with all alarms ringing), a camera, and on an impulse, I slipped in my brand new makeup kit. If there was a formal occasion, I might as well be prepared, even though I'd use the smallest amount possible.

There, I was done. I closed them both and paused the music on my Touch. "Dad," I called through the door of his bedroom/man-cave, "I'm ready. Are you?" He opened the door with one of his rare smiles. "Yup," he said, and we walked to the car for the drive to the airport to meet up with his boss.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The plane ride was a bit taxing. We were riding business class, and my dad had to constantly reassure that I was sixteen, and that I was just a bit short for my age. One of the stewardesses was the most openly against it, until I'd opened my mouth and spouted some of my academic knowledge. The shock on her blonde-dyed, heavily made up face was hilarious. We had no more trouble the rest of the ride, and the other stewardesses treated me with something akin to respect. I learned from one that introduced herself as Amy that she was rather a pain in the neck and they were happily surprised that she was quiet for the rest of the flight. I fell asleep for most of the flight, and was glad for it. The bags under my eyes started to fade, making me look a bit less like I'd just stepped out of the grave.

When we got to the hotel, I was a bit surprised that we had gotten three rooms, one room just for me. I happily fell onto my own bed, glad that my father finally decided to trust me with my own room. He had little cause for concern, after all, since I wasn't very social with people near my own age, and never, ever showed much (translation: any) interest with the other gender. I simply put my suitcase in the closet and went in for a shower. The bathroom was pristine, and unlike most hotels, the bathtub was sparkling clean. I had a wonderfully hot shower, reluctantly getting out and changing into a black tee-shirt and cargo pants. I combed my hair, and pulled it back with a silver headband. There. I looked halfway decent, with a healthy flush on my cheeks thanks to the heat of the water. As a final touch, I pulled on my beloved fingerless black gloves. They were made of leather, and I had gotten them for my birthday. I never went anywhere without them. Dressed and armed with the knowledge of two days on my own before the International Police meeting, I asked Dad if I could go out. He murmured something that sounded like agreement, and I happily grabbed my shoulder bag and walked out of the hotel.

Japan was beautiful. With $120 US dollars in my purse, and a camera with a full battery, my free two days passed in easy relaxation. With enough sleep and a chance to simply blend in with the locals or the tourists at my choice, I was happier and more cheerful. On the third day, I dressed in a white blouse and loose black velvety pants. My hair was back up in its silver hair band, and after much internal debate, I put a thin coating of lip gloss on the specified place. I put on my hose, and carefully slipped on my low heels. I walked around and finally was able to walk without looking like I was about to topple over.

The meeting room was jam-packed with people from foreign countries. My dad and his boss lied smoothly, saying that I was an intern. That got me patronizing glances from most of the people, with the exception of a few. One of those few was a Japanese delegate, who either was an intern or just graduated. He certainly had the over-eager energy and willingness to please of one. He introduced himself as Touta Matsuda. His English was just as bad as my Japanese, so we kept stumbling and correcting each other. He introduced his boss, Yagami Soichiro. He had firm handshake and a good grip on English. I knew enough Japanese to greet him with the traditional greeting, and I could see the surprise on his face. I understood, since not many people knew Japanese, and the ICPO usually communicated in English. I could feel a slightly embarrassed flush creep on my cheeks. "I-I studied Japan for a time," I said quickly. He nodded, and smiled. "I understand an emergency meeting is a bit awkward for first timers, but the ICPO is usually much more lax than this." I nodded, and thanked him for that. The meeting commenced, and there was a lot of power shoving, concealed belittling, and ego trips. Accusations of the US agencies were made, then made into a joke. I sighed. I was already bored. The scent of testosterone was thick to the point of choking in the air. Hmm, males must be impervious to its thickness. Then someone suggested that they bring in L. Here, I perked up. My dad wasn't too high up on the ranking ladder, so I'd never heard anyone with the alias L before. That initiated a new buzz. I managed to catch "stubborn" and "how do we contact" before a man in a trench coat and fedora stood up and said, "Gentleman, L has already started working on this case." His face was completely hidden in his rather cliché wardrobe. "Watari!" some cried from the ranks of police officers. I stored that name in my head. It might prove to be useful later on. I had seen Watari before the meeting officially started. He had not taken any food or drink, and everyone else seemed to not notice him. My thoughts turned to the small box of fudge I'd made last night. I planned to have it after the meeting, but I seemed to now have a better use for it. I noticed the Japanese Chief saying along the lines of "Watari is not a Japanese delegate". Then Watari had my and everyone else's attention. "Silence, please. I now give you the voice of L." Voice? He set down a laptop next to a pair of microphones.

"Greetings to everyone at the ICPO. This is L," a garbled but still comprehensible voice sounded from the PowerBook. "This is the biggest and most difficult case yet—an atrocious and unforgivable mass murderer! In order to solve this case, I ask of you in the ICPO to offer me your complete and total cooperation in solving this case." There was almost total silence as everyone considered this. There was an overall agreement, and Watari informed L that the ICPO had agreed to give all the assistance it could. L then went on to explain why he thought that this mass murderer, be it a group or a single person, was in Japan. The two Japanese delegates immediately demanded why. He said that it would be explained in their upcoming showdown. He then requested that the force be moved to Japan. Reluctantly, they agreed, and the meeting temporarily disbanded.

Watari's POV

I closed the laptop and gathered the things. I was about to slip quietly out of one of the doors when a small girl walked up to me. I had seen her sit next to one of the American delegates. She bit her right thumbnail, reminding me strongly of my ward, before she silently held out a small white box. "Umm, I didn't see you get anything to eat, so…this is for you and L. It's fudge," she said, sounding a bit mollified by her own boldness. Despite this, I couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure he'll enjoy it," I said. Not known to many, he lived for sugar and sweets and such confectionary. Her head instantly snapped up, defiance beginning to sparkle in her dark brown eyes. "It's for you and L, so you need to eat some, too. As brilliant as I've heard that L is, I doubt that he's built a robot that can function as you can, Watari. Therefore, you must be human and must eat. In addition to that, you would obviously be concerned about my motivations behind giving him a gift like this out of the blue, and you would test it for various poisons. You can't perform so many tests without allowing this fudge to go stale, and so you would need to sample one. There," she said, smiling shyly. "I've built an alibi for you to explain to L as to why there are only six pieces left." I couldn't help but let a chuckle escape me. "Very well…"

"Kayla."

"Very well, Kayla." I opened the box, and sitting there innocently was nine pieces of fudge. She looked up at me expectantly as I popped one in my mouth. It was good, and tasted as fudge should. I smiled, and said, "It's very good, but I doubt that L would be very happy to discover that I had eaten three pieces in his absence." She giggled, then shyly moved to go with the departing American delegates, and I took my leave.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yey, I finally have an author's note! *jigs for a minute* Ok, down to business. First of all, a gigantic THANK YOU to theawesomesarah and ChocolateKitty for reviewing! And to theawesomesarah, I forgot to tell you that I love your picture. L's just so dang cute, isn't he? Second, I'm aiming for Kayla to not be a Mary-Sue. Everyone who's reading, please let me know if she's becoming a Sue. Third, strawberries and heavily over-sugared coffee to all who review.

Now, on with the show!

* * *

Chapter 3

Kayla's POV

The next, oh, month or so was taken up by the investigation. My father had consulted with his boss, and then he walked up to Chief Yagami Soichiro. They had put their heads together, and after a few minutes, they came apart and shook hands, smiling. It turned out that Dad was going to be transferred for the Kira investigation. And guess who was coming with him?

I woke up in the hotel. Our remaining two rooms would be funded by the US. Our tax dollars at work. I dressed in my favorite casual outfit that I had worn during my two days off. Just because I was on the investigation was no reason for me to use my formal outfit every day. Besides, I'd blend in better, and I would be able to come and go as I pleased. Instead of the shoulder bag, however, I slung on my messenger pack. This way, I'd be able to keep my laptop with me at all times. I pulled on my fingerless gloves as I checked out of the hotel. "Going somewhere, doll?" a guy asked me when I got on one of the buses, obviously trying out a pickup line. Should I tell him that it failed miserably? "Yes, to my karate class. Today, I'm getting my black belt." He stayed far, far away from me after that. He was probably drunk or something, since no one sane would want to look twice at me. I'm one of those people who everyone says, "She has a great personality." Translation: she's not worth dating, dude, so just forget it. Oh, well. I whispered the lyrics of my favorite song, Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift.

The way you move is like a full on rainstorm  
And I'm a house of cards  
You're the kind of reckless  
That should send me runnin'  
But I kinda know that I won't get far  
And you stood there in front of me  
Just close enough to touch  
Close enough to hope you couldn't see  
What I was thinking of

Drop everything now  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

I walked in on the Chief standing up to talk to the men. He nodded in my general direction, and I reciprocated the gesture. Sitting down next to Matsuda, I listened as he told everyone who didn't want to participate in the investigation to go with honors before he got back from his meeting. When he walked out, there were a few moments of silence before people practically stampeded out of the room. I looked over at Matsuda, who shook his head. I grinned, then said, "Like school kids after the bell rings after school, no?" He laughed. I stretched once everyone who was going went. Matsuda looked at me carefully. "Hey," he began. "After, you know, this, um…would you…I mean…uh…do…um…I…doyuwanttogoforicecream?" I laughed. "Matsuda, first of all, I doubt that I'm your type. Second, I think you've gotten wind of my inept clumsiness concerning anything social, so that makes me suspect very strongly that you're just in it because you pity me. Third, I really don't see you as anything more than a friend and kind of an older brother. So, not to crush your hopes or anything, but I'm going to have to say no thanks." He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. That made me sure it was just because of my 'social clumsiness'. Dad got a call on his phone, and looked surprised as he walked out to talk. I plugged my headphones into my iPod Touch and offered one to Matsuda, which he accepted. "Mind you," I warned, "My music is American, and roughly half of it is girl stuff and the rest falls into various miscellaneous categories." He shrugged and we listened to Avril Lavine, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and the Fray while waiting for the Director to come back.

At 4:49, I unplugged the headphones and the Director came back. The six of us were still in the room, and my father whispered something in the Director's ears. "Kayla, your father's girlfriend is now in her third trimester of her pregnancy. Do you choose to go back to the States with your father?" I shook my head, and glared darkly at my father. "You should know, Father," I said. Yes, I call him Father sometimes. If I do, then he knows he's in BIG trouble. "I will not go back to that lady. I belong here. Don't worry; I'm sure you can trust Matsuda and the Director to keep me from doing anything excessively stupid. But other than that, no. I refuse to throw this case, probably the biggest case I will ever get to crack, just because of some hooker got a hold of you and decided to suddenly have twins." Matsuda looked at me in slight concern for my sanity. I shook my head, and he nodded. My father then left, but not before promising to keep me posted (that reminds me, I've got to keep my cell phones off at all times) and the Director looked over at us. "Six m-people. Only six left. No," he said, contradicting himself. "Six men and women willing to risk their lives for this case. Nine, including myself, Watari and L."

"Good," the electronic voice of L coming from the microphone. "I trust you seven." One man stood up. "L may trust us, Director, but I don't trust L!" Murmurs of agreement rose from the others. I stood up, speaking for the first time to all of them. "No! We should trust L! How else are we going to solve this case?" I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Anyway, have any of you considered on the off chance that L knew there weren't people who were willing to trust him, and so waited until now, where we've been narrowed down to those who are willing to risk their lives—and have very little, if not anything, to lose." There was a silence, in which I think I saw Watari nod, though I might be mistaken, then Matsuda stood up. "I trust L," he said nervously. The Director nodded, and reluctantly, the others agreed. Watari turned around the laptop, which had the words 'Good. If you trust me, come to the Tonta hotel tonight, as in before 2004. I will meet you there. I am in room 233-15.'

We walked through the warm night, the Director in the front and the rest sort of clumped together. Aizewa turned to look at me. "Um, Kayla-sama—"

"Just Kayla is fine, Aizewa-kun."

"OK. Kayla, why do you wear such…casual clothes all the time?" I cracked a grin. "Simple, Aizewa-kun. You all can wear such formal clothes because first of all, it's expected of you, and second of all, it's quite normal to see adults walking around in those suits of yours. However, 16-year-olds like me are rarely ever seen in anything but informal clothes that look like they've been slept in. Therefore, to make it easier to 'disappear' and not stand out, I wear things like this." This time, it was him who smiled. "Now I understand why you were with your father working on this case. Your deductive skills are amazing." I shrugged. "Not amazing, Aizewa-kun. I just have a knack for absorbing information." The rest of the walk to the Tonta Hotel was uneventful. However, our entrance was. We got plenty of funny looks, which I ignored. Probably they hadn't seen a teenage girl surrounded by middle-aged men. Which, now that I think about it, _is_ kinda weird. Not that I cared that much. Remember, this was coming from a girl that couldn't even turn a guy down gracefully.

* * *

A/N: No, not yet, for all of you who are clamoring to see L. He will appear in the next chapter, this is just sort of a filler, though we see for the first time a glimpse of Kayla's family troubles. To let you all know, Matsuda doesn't really like Kayla more than a little sister, but he felt sorry for her and decided to ask her out. He stutters because he has no idea how to do it without completely giving it away that he's just taking her out because he pities her. She sees right though it, though, so no more. Sorry to all of those who thought I was going to have a love triangle.

All reviews will be answered to, but mainly on weekends.

All right then, The New Vampire out.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I couldn't believe it. I was getting butterflies in my stomach. Great. I was flipping 16 and acting like 6. That sounds like a movie title: 16 going on 6. Like 12 going on 20, or whatever that one movie's called. In complete defiance to my now-acrobatic stomach who was now threatening to unload my delicious lunch of tempura shrimp and vegetables onto the marble tile floor of the elevator, I unwrapped one of those Dum-Dum lollipops (the cream soda kind) and stuck it in my mouth. For some reason, the feel of sugar running through my circulatory system was completely calming to me. I felt fine now, even though my stomach was still being rebellious, not completely appeased by the candy. I always kept a couple of sweets in my pockets and bags. Right now, I had 5 lollipops (including 3 Tootsie pops…mmm), a small bag of Tootsie Rolls, and a bunch of Halloween candy from last year—hey, it's candy, it doesn't have an expiration date. At least, not to me. The wrapper I folded into a simple paper crane as we got into the elevator and rode up to the 15th floor. Matsuda raised his eyebrows, and I lobbed it over to him. He caught it clumsily, and I cracked a grin. "Your hand-eye coordination is worse than usual," I whispered. He rolled his eyes and the elevator pinged as we pulled to the 15th floor. Room 233-15 was at the very end of the hall, one of the two large suites. The white door had the traditional gold numbers 233 on them. A classy hotel, since they weren't chipped. I'd spent more time than you'd think in hotels, and the first thing you look at is the numbers. If they're chipped, pasted on, crooked, or not there at all, it's defiantly not a five-star hotel. The Director knocked on the door, and there stood…someone. He was tall, or would be if he didn't slouch, and skinny. He had a small, sharp nose and large black eyes. His spiky hair seemed to defy gravity, swept to the side. He stared at us, an unfathomable expression in his eyes and on his face. He wore a loose white tee-shirt and baggy jeans. He scratched his leg with one foot. "I am L," he said simply. I was surprised, but I carefully hid under a mask of blankness. This could be a decoy, to see who it was. Or it could really be him, but that wasn't as likely. I couldn't quite place his age—he seemed to be in his late teens, or early twenties, but his eyes were older than they should have been. He was, I'm afraid to say, not what I'd expected when I thought of meeting L. "I'm Director Yagami, Chief of the Police," the Director said, flashing his badge. "I'm Matsuda," Matsuda chimed in after. The rest followed in close order.

"Aizewa"

"Usata"

"Siza"

When it was time for my turn, L looked at me closely. "Call me K," I said on an impulse. L's eyebrow, nearly hidden under his wild hair, raised a quarter of a centimeter. Then he made a gun out of his hand: thumb pointing up, the last three fingers curled in, the index finger pointing at us. "Bang," he said. The other guys jumped and exclaimed. I kept silent, simply staring at him, analyzing his every move. "That's not funny," Matsuda protested. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "If I were Kira, you'd already be dead, Mr. Yagami, Matsuda, Aizewa, Usata, and Siza. However," here he looked at me, "'K' would not." I shook my head, and reluctantly took my lollipop out of my mouth. "Actually, I would probably be dead, too. When I gave Watari the fudge, I have no doubt that he recorded the incident. And even if he did not, I did not bother to conceal my face nor my name from him, so he would most likely have described me to you, and told you what my name was. So yes, I probably would be dead too, because you would simply use the process of elimination to find out my name." He nodded, then said, "As you know, Kira only needs a face and a name to kill. Logically, that is impossible, but he has managed to do it. We can only conclude that Kira is using a supernatural way to kill. It is down to us now to pursue Kira, so please be more careful with your names." Well, that was rather…obvious. I gave into temptation and rolled my eyes when I heard Matsuda say, "I heard that he only needed a face!" I hit the back of his head and told him, "Watch the news once in a while, Matsuda-san. Criminals whose names weren't broadcasted to the public somehow survived the mass murders. Even the ones who had incredibly bad records, which seems to be Kira's way of deciding who dies." He looked sheepishly at me as I popped my lollipop back in my mouth, indicating that the conversation was over. L half-turned back to us. "All right, now, down to business. Please put all communication devices, phones and laptops on the table." Murmurs of how they wished L would trust them flew around, but I was busy. I put my iPod Touch on the table, then Matsuda looked at me questioningly. "It has a special tracker I can turn on, the Skype app, internet, recorder, and bunch of stuff I added." I then opened my laptop bag, debating on whether or not to put the entire bag on the table and risk running out of candy, or just put my laptop on the table. My stomach won, needless to say. Aizewa raised an eyebrow at me, which I deliberately took out a piece of candy corn, waved it in the air, and popped it in my mouth. He shook his head. Poor, sensible Aizewa. He was stuck with dealing with me until the case was over. We walked to the sitting room, where L told us not to write anything down, and to call him Ryuuzaki. I guess I can understand that. I'm beginning to believe that he really is L, but I'm just going to have to see for myself. I couldn't really ask him what his name was. And, of course, everyone else took all the seats. So I sat cross-legged on the floor next to L-Ryuuzaki.

* * *

"I will need to speak with each of you in private, to make sure that Kira is not one of us. Director, if you will please follow me?" One by one, he moved through the group, and I was last. Of course. I was usually last. Whether that was a good thing or not, I had no idea. At last, Ryuuzaki stepped out of the room, and motioned me into the room, and I followed. He closed the door, and then sat in his precarious way in the seat opposite me. "Please make yourself comfortable," he said in the monotone voice he'd seemingly adopted for everything. I sat in the plush loveseat, crossing my legs, still sucking on my lollipop. I wondered if I should take it out, but decided not to. I couldn't loose my calm now. "So," he said. "I have a few questions. First of all, what is your real name?"

"Kayla Sorenson."

"Why did you join this investigation?"

"My father, he signed himself up for it, and so naturally I had to come along."

"Why did you continue the investigation despite the fact that your father is not here?" I made a slight face. "My father…he left for the States, because his…girlfriend is pregnant. I stayed back because I really wanted to solve this case, and because…I…am not too fond of his girlfriend." He watched my every move intensely, and I stared right back at him. From here, barely four feet from him, I could just make out a thin, dark gray ring around his large pupils. At last, he asked, "Who do you think Kira is?" I thought. "As you said, I think, first of all, Kira is a student. Second, I believe Kira is a male."

"Please explain."

"It was his objective that convinced me. Making the world better by killing people is a show of dominance. Saying, 'I am greater, more powerful than you, so you must do as I say.'" He nodded. "Anything else?"

"…the way he kills, at first made me wonder if it was really a god. But, I noticed that all the criminals aired on the news network included their picture and their name. The ones who had committed serious crimes died. So that made me about…56% certain that it is a rather childish person, who is playing god. Heart attacks, they are not something that you can exactly induce. And the autopsies never showed any sign of a heart-attack inducing chemical—that leads me to the conclusion that this is the supernatural at work. Perhaps this person has borrowed a power from a god of death…say, a shinigami. It seems that the power this person has can work long distances. And one other thing—this person is smart, and he believes deeply in what he does. He won't turn himself in easily, and he will probably be able to evade capture for a while." He nodded, more to himself than me. "On one hand, it's nice to hear someone reinforce my own thoughts. However, you've also increased the chance of you being Kira to 20%. No, more like…"

"L, please don't lie to me. What is the actual percentage of me being Kira?"

"…50%. However, that is partially because I have no other suspect." I nodded. That made sense, even if it did mean that I was the prime suspect. "Is there any way I could possibly convince you that I am not Kira?"

"Not really. I will have to watch you myself. For the meantime, you will still be on the investigation. Just know that I will be watching you," he said before getting out of the chair. I nodded, and followed suit.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I looked through the files on my laptop, Ryuuzaki watching my every move. I bit down on my Tootsie Roll to try to prevent myself from making a remark on that. After all, I was the main (well, only) suspect for being Kira. I remembered what the team's reactions had been the other day, when Ryuuzaki had announced his suspicions.

* * *

"You can't be serious, Ryuuzaki," Director Yagami. "Yeah," Matsuda chimed in. The rest of the group nodded, and I held up my hands. "Guys, stop. I can understand where Ryuuzaki's coming from, and I get it, OK? It'll be fine. I'm still on the investigation team, for now at least."

"But still…"

"Matsu, it's _fine_. OK?" Reluctantly, he nodded, and I sighed, feeling the stress build up inside me. "It'll be fine…"

* * *

"Ok, here it is. The documents that the US sent to the FBI." Ryuuzaki penetrated my bubble. He. Was. In. My. Bubble. No, even more than that. He was practically putting his chest on my shoulder. My lower eyelid twitched. I shifted to put some distance between us. I'd become less and less tolerant of people in my personal space since the…accident, and he noticed that. Raising his eyebrows at me, he turned back to the screen. "I see," he said in his low monotone. I sighed, then reached for my bag again. This caught his attention. "Why are you always reaching into the bag?" he asked. I stopped short and stared at him. There was a silent battle of wills before I slowly took the entire bag and handed it to him. He opened it up, interested. He pulled out my emergency kit (I glared at him before he slowly put it down—hey, if a guy was holding your box of spare tampons, you'd glare too), my journal (thank god I left my diary at the hotel), my notepad (nothing written down on there) and finally…my large bag of candies. I twitched. He noticed. "You know, it's been a long time since I've had any American candies…" I snatched it out of his hand before popping a Skittle in my mouth. "No eating the evidence. Anything suspicious in my bag, detective, or may I put my _things_ away?" I pointed to the box of tampons. He turned pink and nodded. I angrily swept my things in and walked to put my bag on the other table, muttering to myself about how he could look through my bag all he wanted to satisfy his perverted fantasies, but by god he wasn't going to get any candy from my stash without at least asking. He called, "52% Kira now." I turned to look at him. "Excuse me, detective, but I don't believe it's a crime to search one's possessions without permission."

"Not if you're me," he smirked. I turned around and fixed him with a long, long look. His smirk grew wider. "Do I irritate Kayla-san?" he asked, trying to look innocent. "Is there a right answer to this?"

"Maybe." The rest of the investigation team was watching with rapt attention. They were aware that I could either become very volatile, or very cool whenever I got really mad. Suddenly, an evil though arose in my mind. I walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "No, you don't," I grinned. He didn't answer, his gray-black eyes wide with shock. Ok, I admit it. I felt a tiny bit of joy in besting him. _I won this time, L._ I turned back to my computer, satisfied.

L's POV

(A/N: Another POV! Yey!)

I admit, that wasn't what I was thinking her reaction would be. I had just told her that she was 53% Kira (which, actually, was not true. It was 36% and dropping swiftly), searched through her belongings, and then provoked her. Judging from the other's reactions, she was prone to losing her temper in ways that promised…interesting. I was looking forward to seeing just how she reacted. However, almost as if she had divined my thoughts, she did not lose her calm, as we were all expecting. As I was expecting Kira would have. I knew that Kira was childish and he did not like to lose. Instead, she came over and kissed me on the cheek before turning back to her work on the laptop she brought from the United States. Almost the exact opposite of what I'd expected her to do. Thoughtfully, I licked my chocolate ice cream cone. Then took a bite. She was certainly interesting. I couldn't wait to get into her mind and see how she though.

My attention was brought back to the TV screens. Inwardly, I cursed whoever installed the cameras. They were blurry, the lens misted, and sometimes static shot up the screen. A normal person wouldn't be able to see someone pickpocketing, let alone scrutinize every detail in a murder scene. Hmm, Raye Penbar…he was entering the train, and—there! "The envelope's gone!" I blurted out. Yes, this was interesting. I looked over at Kayla, to ask her opinion, only to find she was…sleeping? I had always seen dark bags under her eyes, but this caught me off guard. She didn't seem to be the type to fall asleep on the job. But there she was. Curled up in a tiny ball like a kitten, her elbow resting on the arm rest and her head pillowed in the crook of her arm. Gently, I poked her. She frowned, mumbled something, and then went back to breathing softly. I poked her, a bit harder this time. Almost immediately, there was an elbow in my stomach. I stared at her, now fully awake and glaring daggers at me. "Pervert," she said before stretching out and popping some candy corn in her mouth. Matsuda looked at her. "How come you fell asleep, Kayla?" She rubbed her eyes with her hands balled up into fists. "I'm an insomniac, which is probably apparent. However, I have a case that leans to the higher side of moderate. No, scratch that. I have a case on the lower side of severe. I won't be able to sleep for a month or so, and then I'll just be out like a light when you least expect it. Oh yeah, and I'm cranky if you wake me up." Watari handed her an ice cream cone with three scoops of frozen chocolate cream. She licked it slowly, then said, "What did I miss?"

"Oh, we were just examining the tape," Mogi said. "What do you think about that envelope, Kayla-san?" She leaned over to squint at the fuzzy image. "Judging by the way he's holding it, I'm guessing there's no bulky item inside it. In fact, it seems pretty likely that there are only a few sheets of paper in it. He seems to be agitated, and keeps looking left and right. I guess that he is being followed, or he suspects that he is. The envelope was not included in the list of personal effects, so he most likely left it on the train. But doing so would mean that he would run the risk of having someone else retrieve the envelope, unless Kira or an associate was on the train. Which is extremely likely, because the way he handles the package shows that he doesn't want to have it, but cannot avoid it—maybe in fear of death, or perhaps Kira himself is here? He's a smart guy—he would have hid it in a place where it either couldn't be seen unless you were looking specifically for it, or in a place where it would have seemed natural. Also, the train ride only lasts an hour. He stays half an hour later. Probably, he didn't want anyone to suspect anything and only left when the train was close to empty. Not to mention the fact that when he was dying, he tried to look inside the train, where there are no cameras. I can't be certain on this fact, but it seems that his body language indicates that the person or thing he sees in the train surprises him. However, that may just be from the shock of having a heart attack—from what the records say, he seems to be a fairly healthy man with no records of heart problems," she finished, taking a generous lick from the ice cream. I thought about her deduction. "Kira does not need to be there specifically. He's shown that he can kill from quite a long distance. However, this might be why he is there, because he believes that we do not think that he would be on the train, therefore he feels safe."

"That may be true. Kira might have come beforehand and scoped out all the blind spots," Kayla agreed. "And if that's true…"

"Then it becomes very likely that Penbar was looking at Kira before he died," I finished. "Wow," Matsuda said in awe. "Kayla-san and Ryuuzaki-sama think so alike…" I looked over at her, and she looked back. As one, we rolled our eyes and then returned to the case. "So why Penbar?" I mused. "It probably means that it was someone that Penbar was shadowing when the FBI went ahead to investigate the National Police Agency's families," Kayla spoke. "Also, Penbar was there at the bus hijacking, according to his log, which was a few days before he died. It was also the day that he decided that the person he was tailing was not suspicious. And so that means…"

"One of the people he was tailing is most likely Kira!" I finished. Again. She nodded. "It also means that Kira was aware someone was tailing him, and decided to dispose of him. And that might be connected to the file that was sent to the other FBI agents—Kira either found out their names…or Raye Penbar killed them!" She was now animated. "It makes sense. If we assume that Raye Penbar was indeed looking at Kira before he died, then that probably meant that Kira used Raye to kill all the other agents." She bit her lip. "That does make sense," I conceded. "However, we don't know how Kira kills these agents, but…"

"It probably involves the envelopes," we said in unison. This was strange. We seemed to think alike and notice the same things at the same time. I got up. "Penbar was investigating the police and their families. In all the households, please install hidden cameras and electronic bugs." As expected, the task force protested. It was all the same stuff: you can't do that, it's illegal, major privacy breech, lose our jobs. Well, I didn't specifically have a job with someone to fire me, so that was only a concern for the other members. "Do you value your jobs over human lives?" I asked. That stopped them cold. "Who was Penbar investigating at that time?" Director Yagami asked. Such a sad thing that I had to tell him. "From the 19th Penbar was investigating…" Matsuda began. I finished for him. "Sub-director Kitamura, and Director Yagami along with their families."

Silence reigned, and then arguments sprang out until, surprisingly, the Director said, "I cannot accept that my family is under suspicion. Please install the bugs, and I want no blind spots—even the bathroom." I nodded, thankful that he had given in so quickly. "Thank you. I was going to do that anyway." A snort was sounded from where Kayla was sitting, cross-legged. "Pervert," she muttered. It was such a wonderful friendship we shared. There were some more arguments before the Chief lost his cool. He was sweating heavily. While he calmed down, I gave the others instructions, and told them that as a courtesy to the Director, only him, myself, and Kayla would watch the family. The Director, because it was his family. I was obvious, and Kayla because she had an amazing sixth sense, and it was fascinating to interact with her. I sat back down on the couch. This was going to be a very trying week, I could see already.

A/N: Another chapter up! This was surprisingly hard to write, especially from L's point of view. This might have some scenes from the anime. I'm sorry if you got confused. Also, we can see the beginnings of a beautiful friendship with Kayla-san and L-kun, right? Yeah, I can only hope it gets better from here. Yes, Kayla has bubble issues. It was only because L outranked her that he wasn't thrown across the room. I apologize to anyone who was creeped out/scarred for life when L searched through her pack. Raise you hands—who cheered when Kayla beat L? I did! That was so unexpected. I never knew L could turn that shade of red.

L: Please shut up.

W: You're doing it again, L.

L: Doing what?

W: Blushing.

L: I don't blush.

W: Then would you kindly explain why your face is a shade of red that would put lava, cooling metal, roses, poinsettias and apples to shame?

Light: Shinigami like apples…

W: Shuddup. *pushs*

Light: MOMMY!

W: Kindly castrate yourself, will you?

Light: You're mean.

W: And YOU'RE acting like a two-year-old.

L: O.O

W: Yes, I'm just weird like that.

L: … *goes to boil ears*

W: Darn, I'm the only one left.

K: No you aren't.

W: YEY! Wanna go for ice cream?

K: Sure. *walk off, laughing and basically acting like girls*

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Stupid writer's block...

* * *

Chapter 6

Kayla's POV

The week passed, with the Chief growing more anxious. Actually, there was no incriminating evidence…but it seemed just too normal. Especially when concerning Light. Wait, why Light? He seemed to know already that there were cameras, but there was no sign of him searching for anything… I grabbed a laptop and plugged it in, then rewound the recordings. I zoomed in on the door as they entered, and…there! Two things wrong. The handle seemed to be a few millimeters lower than it should be, but more importantly, when the door was opened, a thin piece of lead, used for mechanical pencils, had been lying on one of the hinges broke and fell to the ground. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I muttered. L looked over at me. "What is it, Kayla?" I brought over the laptop to show him. "The paper was a fake! The actual indicator was a pencil lead! He put it on the hinge so he could figure out if someone was in his room." L sucked in a breath. "So that would mean…"

"He knows someone has been in his room." I smacked my forehead. "Damn. That means that he probably knows the house is bugged and so most of this stuff isn't hard evidence, cause he's just acting! And I only caught it now…" I leaned back against the back of the couch. Thoughts whirred around in my head at a dizzying speed. _Could_ Light be Kira? And if so, how was he still killing? I fast forwarded to when he was studying and…the bag. That was the only thing we couldn't see. Criminals were still being killed, but these were minor compared to the ones before. "Kira might be able to kill using things that are small enough to fit in a chip bag with room to spare…could he?" I mused. L looked over my shoulder. "Hmmm, it seems that we cannot see the inside of the bag…that would not normally be a cause of concern but we do not know how Kira kills, and therefore that might be a cause for concern…" I nodded. "Yup. So there is still a chance that Light is Kira, unfortunately." The Director shook his head in exhaustion. "So, my son has not been cleared yet…" I lightly put a hand on his shoulder, and L looked over in slight concern. Yagami-san sighed, and then he asked, "So, Ryuuzaki, what are you going to tell the rest of the team?" Ryuuzaki's hand was already attached to his mouth. Or, at least his thumb was. "It is already at the end of our observation period—I will tell them the truth, and Kayla and I, and the rest of the investigation team will find a different way to observe Light."

As expected, the team didn't take it too well at first. But L assured them that he had another way of fixing the problem. Once he explained it, the team reluctantly agreed…


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I know, the last chapter was horrible. I hope this one is better!

Disclaimer: Look, I don't own anything that seems recognizable. Taylor Swift belongs to Taylor Swift. Selena Gomez belongs to Selena Gomez. Secrets belong to OneRepublic. Death Note belongs to Ohba and Obata. Kayla...actually belongs to me! Yay! And so does her family and stuff, but if you ask nicely, I'll let you borrow her. ^-^ Just PM me, 'k?

* * *

Chapter 7

L's POV

And so it was decided. I would track down Light Yagami myself. I would sit for the entrance exam, ace it along with Chief Yagami's son, and I would attend To-Oh University as a student. The team agreed, after I had to convince them extensively.

10:00. Most of the team had gone now—no, all of them had gone, except for one person. "Yes, Kayla-san?" To say the least, I did not expect her to do what she did next. She slammed me against the wall, her face inches from mine, something unfamiliar burning in her eyes. "Ryuuzaki, I have no intention of letting you go and face Kira all by yourself." Ah. So that was what she was feeling—protectiveness. But, why? "We do not know if he is Kira yet," I said, attempting to fight back while still being pinned to the wall. "You do. You just need the evidence to convince everyone else," she shot back. Well, she had me there. "That is true. However, I'm still not allowing you to go alone." I sighed. After a half-hour of debating and arguing, I agreed to let her come with me, and she released me from the wall. "But what is your alibi going to be for following me around most of the time?" I asked her musingly. "I dunno, that I'm your girlfriend?" I considered that. "That sounds reasonable." She whipped around. "Wha-? I just—" I grinned, and slowly backed her up against the wall. "Ryuuzaki…what are you doing…?" I didn't answer her. Soon, we were so close together that my forehead was pressed against hers. Her cheeks were slowly turning red. I leaned in, and the next thing I knew, I was across the room with pain blossoming in my chest. Kayla was staring at me, wide eyed, her right hand still balled up in a fist. I gingerly probed my chest. That would bruise later. "You're stronger than you look," I commented. She said nothing, a deep flush finally working its way to her face. "I-I need to get to my hotel room," was all she said before turning and making her exit, leaving me to wonder why I had done that and what she was thinking.

Kayla's POV

My face was on fire as I left—no, fled—from Ryuuzaki's room. I was out of the hotel and out on the street before I knew it. I took in a few breaths, and slowed down. I was near one of my favorite bakeries that I'd noticed on my first two days in Japan—iipan. I walked over and ordered some blueberry scones, and nibbled on one as I walked in the general direction of my hotel. What I'd told Ryuuzaki was sort of true—I kind of did need to get to my hotel room if I was not aiming to be a zombie tomorrow. But I couldn't help but have the events that occurred in the hotel room run though my mind over and over again. Hundreds of questions were running around in my mind as I walked in my room and fell on the couch_. Was he really going to kiss me? Did I blow it? Does he hate me now? Or was he trying to intimidate me? Was this a personal thing? Does he like me? Do I like him? Where was Watari when this was all going on? Why was I blushing? Why did I blush back there?_ Then the questions took an alarming turn for the worse. _Does he like me? Do I like him? Why does it bother me so much? Why am I worrying about this? Does he like someone else? Or was it me? Does he still like me? Did I just destroy something that could have been great? Am I going crazy? What was the look on his face? What was going through his head? Does he hate me now? Or does he still like me? Did he ever like me? Am I reading too much into this? Why was I blushing? Heck, why am I still blushing? And—if he kissed me, would I like it? Was he going to kiss me? What would it be like to kiss him? Would this be a "don't ask, don't tell" thing, or would it progress? Why was I thinking so much about it?_ I shook my head. I couldn't afford to have those kinds of thoughts in my head. To clear my head, I plugged in my slightly neglected iPod Touch, and cranked up the volume, something I didn't do often. Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift came on. Uh-uh, that only brought up more unanswerable questions. Round and Round by Selena Gomez. No. That described my situation, something that I was trying to escape from. Year Without Rain by Selena Gomez. No thank you. That also brought up questions. Fearless by Taylor Swift. Dang it, wasn't there something I could listen to without thinking about him? Finally, I settled on Secrets by One Republic.

_I need another story_  
_Something to get off my chest_  
_My life gets kinda boring_  
_Need something that I can confess_  
_Til' all my sleeves are stained red_  
_From all the truth that I've said_  
_Come by it honestly I swear_  
_Thought you saw wink, no_  
_I've been on the brink, so_

_Tell me what you want to hear_  
_Something that were like those years_  
_Sick of all the insincere_  
_So I'm gonna give all my secrets away_  
_This time, don't need another perfect lie_  
_Don't care if critics never jump in line_  
_I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

_My god, amazing how we got this far_  
_It's like we're chasing all those stars_  
_Who's driving shiny big black cars_  
_And everyday I see the news_  
_All the problems that we could solve_  
_And when a situation rises_  
_Just write it into an album_  
_Singing straight, too cold_  
_I don't really like my flow, no, so_

_Tell me what you want to hear_  
_Something that were like those years_  
_Sick of all the insincere_  
_So I'm gonna give all my secrets away_  
_This time, don't need another perfect lie_  
_Don't care if critics never jump in line_  
_I'm gonna give all my secrets away__…_

After this song, I got up and got into the bed, falling asleep as soon as my head was on the pillow.

The next morning was much better. I listened to Intuition by Selena Gomez as I went through my morning routines.

_I gotta go with what feels right, whoa whoa_  
_Don't always need a reason why, whoa whoa_  
_What's the problem compared to_  
_The weight of the world_  
_Quit trying to please every_  
_Man, woman, boy and girl_  
_Better pick up the pace_  
_There ain't no time to waste_  
_Tomorrow's never promised_  
_So I started living for today_

_I'm gonna follow my intuition_  
_Telling myself to listen_  
_Everything's gonna be okay_  
_It's gonna be a good day_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_It's gonna be a good day_  
_Follow my intuition_  
_It's gonna be a good day_

I walked out, dressed in a soft green sweater with a v-neck and comfortable dark and loose jeans, and some sneakers. On a complete impulse, I braided my hair and pinned on something I'd almost never worn—a silver clip with a pearly flower on it. It had been a gift from my mother, a long time ago. I took a deep breath, and walked out to face the day.

* * *

A/N: Whew! I know, I know, way too many songs, yadda yadda yadda. I had a total song list for this, and I couldn't resist putting them in. Well, L made a move on Kayla-only, neither of them understand what's happening! Yes, L was a bit OOC there. But then, he kinda has to be, to be in any romance, right?

...

Yeah, you've got a point there. Well, hopefully the next chapter will be better! ^^;

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Oops. I just noticed that there are major paradoxes in the story. Let me explain:

1) when she said "braid her hair", she meant braid it into 2 pigtails. It's not _quite_ long enough to plait into one braid.

2) She hadn't slept in a long time. A very long time.

Well, that being said, I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 8

Kayla's POV

The moment I walked into the hotel room, I knew I was in for a long, long day. Matsuda was practically beaming. If he had a tail, he would be wagging it like crazy. The Chief and the others looked a bit apprehensive. I raised an eyebrow at Ryuuzaki. "I assume that you've informed them?" He nodded. Matsuda was nearly dancing. "I can't believe that—" I shot him a look. "You can't believe what, Matsu? That I'm finally able to go to a college? That I'm actively contributing to the case? What is it? Speak up," I said—well, sort of snapped at him. He looked nervous, and I sighed. "Sorry, Matsu. I'm just keyed up from lack of sleep." He grinned. "I'm just happy that you get to spend some time with Ryuuzaki!" he chirped. I shot him another look, then collapsed on one of the couches. "Mmm," I mumbled, not ready to answer that yet. Thankfully, Yagami-san came to my rescue and scolded Matsuda for straying from the topic of the Kira investigation. God bless the man.

I ate some M&Ms as we worked through stacks of data. More deaths of criminals…I shook my head and looked up at the clock. 7:24. "Ryuuzaki, we need to get to the school before 8:00. If we head out now, we'll probably be able to make it." He looked at the clock. "I suppose you are correct. Watari," he called in the general direction of the kitchen. Watari looked out. "Yes, Ryuuzaki?" The mentioned was gingerly getting out of his chair. "According to Kayla-chan, we must start off to the school if we wish to arrive on time." Watari nodded. "Of course, Ryuuzaki. Shall I get the car?" Ryuuzaki nodded. "Thank you, Watari." Watari nodded, then left the room. Ryuuzaki headed to the door, then looked back at the room. "Kayla-chan?" he called. I came, running my fingers through the top of my hair. "Coming, coming. Thought you'd need something to snack on later. Are we going now?" He nodded, and we walked out. A black Mercedes was waiting in the parking lot, and I noticed… "Ryuuzaki, you're wearing shoes," I said. He looked down. "Yes, I am. I've had these for a while. When I walked out in public every so often, I'd wear these. They're quite worn now." I thought about that. Eventually, I asked, "You'd go out? When?" As soon as the words were out, I wanted to clamp my mouth. Not only because it sounded incredibly rude. I was probing into his private life, but he just shrugged and said, "When we came to a new place, I'd usually take a look around the first few days. It was helpful when Watari knew where to go to get my food." I smiled. "Speaking of food, I've packed a bit, just so that in case you get hungry. Stole it from the kitchen." He gifted me with a slight smile.

We got into the car, and Watari drove us to the place, with 15 minutes to spare. We sat in the car in silence for a few minutes, before Ryuuzaki slipped his hand around mine. I started and stared down at our hands. Two slender, pale hands, clasped, virtually their only difference being the size—his was bigger than mine. His hand felt soft, and I realized it was probably because he didn't really do very physically strenuous work. He didn't need to, after all. I looked over at Ryuuzaki, but he was looking out the window. "We should be going in about now, Kayla-chan," he said as if he wasn't holding my hand at that moment. "Uh…yeah, sure," I said nervously. We got out, still holding hands, and walked to the building. You could have cooked an omelet on my face. Suddenly, before I completely broke down, I halted and started digging around in my bag. "Oh, yeah, um, Ryuuzaki-kun…um…here." I shoved a small Ziplock container at him. It contained a very large piece of a random cake I saw in the kitchen. It was chocolate, with white frosting and a strawberry on top. He looked down at it in shock for a few minutes, and then looked up and gave me the biggest smile that I'd ever seen on his face. It seemed to have been conceived from pure joy, and simply lit his face up like a candle. Unlike most of his smiles, which were small and controlled, this one was completely unveiled.

And it was without a doubt the most adorable thing I'd ever seen.

It was also infectious, and I couldn't help but hear the chorus of Hey Stephan by Taylor Swift run in my head. Darn music.

'_Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel_  
_Can't help I if I wanna kiss you in the rain so_  
_Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you_  
_Can't help it if there's no one else_  
_I can't help myself_

"Thank you, Kayla-chan," he said happily. I smiled back. Like I said, infectious. "You're welcome, Ryuuzaki-kun. Good luck on the test." Although he wouldn't need it. He could sit normally, and still ace it in his sleep. "Same to you," he said before we walked in the testing center. I sat right next to Ryuuzaki, and he sat two rows from Light. The proctor pompously said, "Begin," and we started. I admit, I was slightly nervous. But when I opened the booklet, it was surprisingly easy. I was on the fourth page when the footsteps of a proctor came down the aisle and a sharp voice said, "You there, number 164. Sit properly." I looked over to see who number 164 was. Who else but Ryuuzaki? I covered my mouth as, with a rather sour look, Ryuuzaki slowly put his legs under the table. Then he looked up, two rows across. Light was looking over at him, and he stared right back. So that was why he'd done that. He'd be able to get a good look at who he was up against. "Get back to work," the proctor instructed before tapping off to scold another student. I finished quickly, and leaned back in my seat to wait for the rest to finish.

L's POV

The test was ridiculously easy. I knew that Kayla-chan and I would pass it, easily. And from what I found about Yagami-san's son, he would too. So we would all get into To-Oh University. After they dismissed us, I got up, and with Kayla-chan in tow, we walked to where Watari was waiting. "Shall we go back to headquarters, Ryuuzaki?" Watari asked. I hesitated, then nodded before taking Kayla-chan's hand again. I could feel her quizzical look burning in me, but I ignored it for the moment. Right now, there were slightly more important things to do than to try and untangle my feelings from the large and rather formidable knot she'd managed to tie them in.

* * *

A/N: And we end this chapter! The reason why he's just started to hold her hand is because I personally think that he'd be a bit embarrassed and awkward when falling in love (well, that's what makes him adorable!) and since Kayla is also like that, it makes for a very slow going romance. He smiled! He smiled! :dance: ^^ Well, until next time, guys!

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: New chapter! ^^ Hope you guys like it!

* * *

Chapter 9

Third Person POV

It was two days before Kayla and Ryuuzaki went to To-Oh University, and the entire task force was buzzing with activity. Well, the entire task force, excluding two people.

Matsuda barged into the room, saying, "Kayla-kun, I—"

Mogi followed him. "Ryuuzaki, I f—"

Then Aizewa. "Hey, I—"

Then Ukita. "What—"

Finally, the Chief came in. "Ryuuzaki, Kayla, I—oh." They stared at the scene across from the room.

Watari walked in, wondering what all the commotion was about. He found all the policemen standing at the door, silent. He quietly made his way into the room, then chuckled. "Gentlemen, I believe that it would be a good time to go home to your families now." Nervously, they nodded and left. Watari walked over to the cluster of couches and televisions. L was arranged in his awkward position, and Kayla in hers. They were both fast asleep, breathing softly and evenly. Still quietly chuckling to himself, Watari gently scooped up first Ryuuzaki and then Kayla and put them in a bed. He smiled softly to see them automatically curl closer to each other, each instinctively seeking warmth and finding it in the other. He turned off the light and slipped from the room.

Kayla's POV

I was in a bright, warm place; with a strong feeling I was safe. Well, actually more like I felt like I was safe, even though I knew I should be running. I didn't care, though. All that mattered at that moment was that I was here, in this little spot of warmth and comfort surrounded by darkness. But then the light was cut off by an encroaching darkness. Fissures cracked open, and the warmth escalated into just plain hot. The feeling of safety fled, and I wanted to, too. Through the fissures crept lava—no, boiling blood. It came everywhere, and every time it touched me, it left a mark that I knew wouldn't wash off. Then from the smoke, I saw faces of people I knew, but covered in blood. And suddenly, I saw Ryuuzaki. I ran to him, and he hugged me, but he changed and became Light Yagami. Only, he had glowing red eyes and held a black notebook with white letters spelling out Death Note. A notebook of Death. He handed it to me, and I took it. And in there, names.

Names I knew all too well.

But it didn't end there. Light took back the book, and swept a hand across the lava-filled area, only there wasn't anymore lava. Instead, it was piled high with bodies. Dead people. There were a lot that I didn't recognize right away, but I guessed that they were the criminals that Kira killed. Then they slowly became more recognizable. Schoolmates, relatives that had faded somewhat in my memory. And then the task force. Then my family. And at the very top, was…I turned away. "So you see," Light said, his voice a low purr, "You really have far too many things you're attached to. Too many things that can break you." I suddenly realized that he'd killed all of them because of me. They all died because of me. Light started laughing, the kind of laugh you'd think psychopaths would. "What do you want from me, Kira?" I asked him, trying not to cry.

"I want your name."

"!" I woke with a scream. But it wasn't the only one that bounced off the walls of the bedroom. L—Ryuuzaki was awake, and had screamed too. I looked at him in some shock. His eyes were hugely dilated, even more so than usual. His normally wide eyes were almost perfectly round. He was panting slightly, and he was deathly white, almost gray. In the dim moonlight, I saw his hand tremble slightly as he dug his fingers though his hair. He took in deep breaths, and I could hear the shakiness of his breathing. My hand crept up and rested lightly on his shoulder on its own accord. He whipped his head around, and looked completely shocked to see me there. "Kay-Kayla-s-san, what are you doing here?" It completely unnerved me that his cool front had been shattered to such a point that he was stuttering. But after all, it was L. He showed as much emotion as your average cookie jar. I didn't answer, knowing I wouldn't be able to form coherent words. Instead, I took off my hand and instead rested my head on his shoulder. He was as still as stone from shock. In that instant, I knew that one of the names I'd seen in the notebook of death was his, and that the body on the top of the pile had been his. I didn't know which name it had been, or how it seemed that he had died, but I just knew that one of them had been his, and his body was at the top, the newest of the dead. And for some reason, the fact that his name had been written on that notebook scared me more than anything. Especially since I knew that there was a connection with the fact that his name was there, and that he was dead in my dream. We sat there for a while in silence. "Kayla-san," Ryuuzaki said, no longer tripping over his words, but still betraying a slight tremor in his voice, "you haven't answered my question yet." I shrugged, still scared. "I-I-I think that Watari brought us here," was all that I could manage. He started to curl up into himself. "I usually get night terrors when I sleep like that, especially in a bed. The percent chance of me getting them is…well, about 89%." I said softly, "I get nightmares unless I use sleeping pills." There was a heavily pregnant silence. "You…use sleeping pills?" Ryuuzaki asked, his voice soft with surprise. I simply nodded against his shoulder, which was actually quite comfortable. He lifted my head up and looked directly at me.

"_Why?_"

* * *

A/N: And on that ever-so-happy note, we end! Aaannddd that was a really, really sucky chapter. :P

L: YES! Yes, I agree.

A: Shut up. Just because I had to stalk you to see how you woke up from a nightmare doesn't mean I don't deserve some pity!

L: Actually, yes. You don't.

A: If you weren't so adorable, I'd deck you right here and now.

K: Why am I acting so Sue-ish in this?

A: Because. Well, actually not really. You ARE pretty touchy-feely...is there something you want to tell us, Kayla-san?

K: No. But I do want another girl's night out!

Light: Can I come?

A & K: No. Stuff it and go castrate yourself.

Matsuda: You can come over and we can paint each other's toenails!

Light: Eew, no.

Matsuda: *pouts*

A: Whoa, wait, I though Matsu was straight!

K: As a circle, yes. Sayu, thank god, bends him back to where he belongs.

A:...I could have gone my whole life without knowing that.

K: Too bad.

*They stand there for a few minutes, then laugh and link arms*

A: Oh, what the heck. BK again?

K: I feel more like Dairy Queen over at the mall.

A: Whatev. I want Dippin' Dots.

K: Last one to the car has to pay 3/4!

A: You are so on.

*run off*

L: *sighs* Great, they've left me to wrap this up.

Light: *jumps L* You still have ME, L!

L: *kicks Lightbulb Imagay to the other side of the room* Do. Not. Touch. Me.

Light: *sulk*

L: Forget it. They can jolly well come back and finish it themselves. I'm getting some cake.

*leaves*

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Okay, I'm sorry for being so long in updating this. But mid-terms, writer's block and a whole pile of homework came and bit me hard. And I have standardized testing next week...=_='.

I'll try to be a bit better on updating, though. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10

Kayla's POV

I sighed as I got out of bed, where I was reading Les Misarables. Today was officially my first day at To-Oh Uni, the initiation ceremony. And so, I had to look semi-presentable. I dragged myself out of the comfortable bed and looked in the mirror. _Damn…I look like L,_ was my first thought. And yes, I did. My bob had grown out, but adopted a curious bed head that I affectionately call the "$*&# gravity-defying mess", there were dark bags under my eyes, which had also darkened from the overload of work, I was slouching slightly, I was wearing rumpled plain clothes and pale from the lack of sunshine (you don't get a lot in that suite of his…). So yes, I looked like L. A rather feminine L, but… I sighed, and shuffled to the bathroom.

First things first. A shower, then grab some clothes before tackling my hair and seeing what in the world I could do about those bags. I rushed through this procedure, and eventually ended up clean, with suitable clothing (white blouse with French cuffs and a black skirt…ugh), mostly-combed hair (I tried, I really did, but eventually gave up), and bags (hate. Makeup. Hate it. Very much). I tucked a stray lock that was dangling irritatingly over my eyes behind my ears—my hair really had grown out—and took one of the city buses to the hotel, where Ryuuzaki and Watari were waiting. There was virtually no change in the way he dressed, excluding a pair of heavily scuffed white tennis shoes that he wore without socks. "Ah, Kayla-san, I neglected to tell you of your alias. At the university, you will be known as Yahara Kumiko," Ryuuzaki said as we climbed in Watari's car. Well, technically it was Ryuuzaki's car, but that was just details. I ran my fingers through my hair again before I slipped on my silver headband. Best thing since the invention of agriculture, since it kept my growing hair out of my face. But that stupid, stupid, stupid lock kept coming back, so in the end I grabbed a bobby pin and stuck it back in.

By the time this was completed, we were pulling in to the parking lot of the university. Ryuuzaki and I got out. The cherry blossoms were falling as we navigated through the crowd and found some seats in the second or so row of the lecture hall.

Half an hour or so later, after the principal and prefect came up and droned on about college, the announcement went up about the freshman representatives. "And now, freshman representative Yagami Light, and freshman representative Hidiki Ryuuga." There was a buzz of chatter. I blocked it all out. After all, it was just about Ryuuzaki's alias (it's all his fault for picking the name of a famous idol), and how weird he looked, and why were there two freshmen representatives. I myself had gotten one point below them. The speech they'd been given to read could've been two completely different speeches. Light read it with enough feeling and emotion to convey the fact that he was pretty excited, but was cool with being the new one for a while. L read it like he couldn't care less. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

After the ceremony, we got into the car. The whispers flew, and even I could hear some of them.

"…got a car and a driver…"

"Wow…"

"…must be super rich"

"Wonder which family he's from…"

"…perfect score, too…"

"…I'm so jealous…"

"And he's got that incredibly cute girlfriend…"

"Oh, yeah. Smart, too."

"Yeah, I heard that she was one point away from a perfect score!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Some people have it all…"

I stared out the window when I suddenly processed what one of them had said. _Incredibly cute girlfriend…I wonder who—?_ My eyes widened once I understood. _B-but I'm not pretty…am I?_ I focused on my transparent refection in the window. Spiky black hair that was growing to her shoulders, wide dark brown eyes, dark bags under them like bruises, pale skin…nah, she wasn't cute. Well, nor me, for that matter. Maybe if she got a good night's sleep, an actual hairstyle, and some makeup (shiver), she could be passably pretty, but the way she—I was now…I shook my head. _Must've mistaken me for someone else…or they didn't catch a good look at my face…yeah, that must've been it…_my thought processes froze when Ryuuzaki caught a hold of my hand again. His hand was colder than mine, so I curled my fingers around his a bit tighter. It was…nice to hold his hand. It was smooth, with tiny calluses at the fingertips, from too much typing I guessed. It wasn't sweaty or really hairy, either (eww…). It was slender and smooth.

He started stroking the back of my hand. That was when my face suddenly upped the temperature about…3,000 degrees Celsius. I risked a tiny peek from the corner of my eye at him. He was staring out the window, too. And Watari, he was gently chuckling in the front. He looked over at me and winked, as if he knew that I'd been watching him. Then he gave another grandfatherly chuckle, as if to say, 'Ah, young love!'

"Kayla-chan," Ryuuzaki said, breaking the almost-silence. "Yes, Ryuuzaki?" I replied, still staring fixedly out the window. "You never answered my question from last night." Last—oh. My face started to rival raspberries. "Uh, yeah. Um…well, it was like this. I was working on cases for my dad, and I'd finally finished them. I hadn't slept in two weeks, but my insomnia wouldn't let me go. So…there were some Nytols in the medicine cabinet, so I took one. It helped me go to sleep fast, and there weren't any nightmares. So I take one whenever I really, really need to sleep." I never took my eyes off the window while telling him. Otherwise, I would've completely lost my nerve. Silence reigned in the car. Not even Watari made another sound until we pulled into the parking complex and found our spot. We got out, and suddenly Ryuuzaki grabbed my arm. I looked at him and opened my mouth to ask him why he did so, but before I could get a word out, he pulled me to him and hugged me tightly. "R-Ryuuzaki…" I was completely frozen. "Don't ever do that again, Kayla," he said with an almost angry tone in his voice. "I-I-" Oh, great. Just perfect. I was now a stuttering fool. "I won't," was all I could manage. I finally unfroze, just as he withdrew from the embrace. "Mm, see that you don't," he said, his voice back in the business-like monotone. "I'd rather not see one of the best people on the team go to the hospital with withdrawal symptoms," he stated as he turned around and started making his way to the hotel room that was currently headquarters. My face was now hot enough to bake a cake. "Uh, sure…" I said as I walked after him. I looked down at the floor, incredibly confused. _Wh-what was that all about? Does he like me? Does he like me anymore? Why did he hug me? What in the world just happened?_

* * *

And we come to an end at a really awkward moment from Kayla. L's POV next chapter, where he wonders what the hell Watari's been slipping into his sweets...just kidding, not really. ^^

I may have accidentally stolen the 'Ah, young love!' quote from Shortcake by Anime-RANDOMNESS-san, so if I did, I'm sorry. :runs to the corner of shame:

But, happy spring, everyone! Where I live, we've been having snowstorms last week or so, so for it to be nice weather today is really a treat. ^^ And I will make an effort to be more timely with the updates!

Ciao!

**TBC**


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